Convertible chair-bed combination



Dec. 20, 1949 s. R. THOMPSON COI ivEBTIBLE CHAIR BED CQiviBHHION 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed June 10, 1948 vDec. 20, '1949 G. R. THOMPSON CONVERTIBLE CHAIR BED COMBINHZIOX Filed June 10, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: kw)

FIG, 5

Patented Dec. 20, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

. This invention relates to a convertible chairbed combination, and provides improvements therein.

With present-day small apartments and houses, a living room is often used for sleeping. It is desired that the furniture of such a room have the appearance and character of living room furniture. Draped couches or divans are much used in such rooms as a sofa by day and a bed by night. It is often desired to have additional sleeping accommodations in such places and also in dwellings and apartments where space is not restricted. The need for occasional or additional sleeping furniture is usually met by foldable beds or cots, which are ordinarily kept in storage space and brought out and set up when the need for them arises.

' From the standpoint of both convenience and service, for regular as well as occasional use, it is much better to have a piece of sleeping furniture which can serve as daytime furniture as well (as a chair or sofa), be presentable in a living room and bear little if any resemblance to a bed and much resemblance to a comfortable chair or sofa when used as a chair or sofa. Withal, it, is highly desirable that such a piece of furniture combine in the highest degree the functional character of a chair or sofa and the normal appearance of a chair of esthetic design, when used as a chair or sofa, and also serve satisfactorily its function as 1".

a bed, when used as a bed. Ruskins comment on buildings, We require from buildings, as from men, two kinds of goodness; first, doing their pract cal duty well; then that they be graceful and pleasing in doing it, is equally applicable to furniture of the character of the present invention.

The present invention \provides a bed-chair combination which is utilitarian in a. full sense, both as a chair and as a bed, with the functional parts so contrived as to be of a pleasing and conventional appearance as a chair or sofa. The structure is strong. It is simple, and convertible from a chair to a bed and vice versa in the simplest way.

Two embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein- Fig. l is a vertical section view of the bed-chair combination (the cushions are in side elevation) with the parts positioned as a chair.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation.

. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation.

Fig. 4 is a. vertical sectional view (with the cushions in side elevation) with the parts posii en a s Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a second embodiment, which, in use as a chair is armless, and which in use as a bed, does not have armrests projecting upward beside the sleeper.

Fig. 6 is a View in front elevation at one side of the chair and showing the parts in section.

Referring to said drawings, numerals I0 and II designate side pieces, I4 2, seat-section, IS a back-section, and I8 an extension-section. Numerals 20, 22, 24 designate three cushions.

The side-pieces I8 and II are fastened in any suitable way to the seat-section I4. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the side pieces may be rearward extensions Iilil (IBI) of or at the sides of the seatsection I4, with upwardly extending parts I05 (lit) at the rear of the seat-section. The seatsection may be of the width of an easy chair or of sofa width. Advantageously, the seat-section has the form of a box, with a removable lid 28, which may serve for the storage of coverings. To avoid projections above the level of the cushions when the parts are in bed-use position, the upwardly extending parts I05, (I66) may be hinged at the level of the upper edge of the seat-section I4, as indicated at I50.

The back-section I6 is pivoted to the sidepieces I!) and II, as indicated by numeral 30, behind the rear panel I4 of the seat-section I4 and with the front or top of the back-section, in the vertically inclined position of the back-section, a distance equal to approximately the thickness of the cushion 24, so as to allow the cushion 24 to extend down into the space behind the seat-section and rest against the back-section I 6 when the parts are positioned for use as a chair.

The extension-section I8 may be pivoted to the top of the back-section I6 as indicated at I! and folds fl-at against; the back of the back-section in the chair position of the parts.

The back-section I6, (and also the extensionsection I8, in the form of embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1-4) is supported in vertically inclined position by suitable means, one form of which may be readily removable rod 33 extending across the face of the extension-section and seated at its ends in holes 34 in the side pieces I!) and. II; or, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, a thumb-screw I33 passing through a hole I3 in the part I05 of the side pieces II), II and engaging a nut I35 in the extension section I8, may be used for the purpose.

The upwardly extending parts H35, (H15) of the side sections Iii, I I in the form of construction illustrated in Figs. ,5 and 6. serve for supporting the back-section I6 mohair use position. When the upwardly extending parts I05, 106) arehinged, as described above, they may be turned downwardly on hinges I50, and thus be below the cushions, as shown in dotted lines Fig. 6, and provide a bed without any obstructions at the sides.

The extension-section I8 is of approximately the same area as the seat-section I4, and by this means the cushion 22 for the extension-section may rest or be disposed on cushion on the seat-section, when the device is being used as a chair. The seat of a comfortable chair is about twenty inches deep, and conform-able thereto, the seat-section l4 and the extension-section I 8 are each about twenty inches long. A comfortable bed is about seventy-six inches long, and conformable thereto, the back-section I6 is made about thirty-six inches long, which, with the two twenty-inch sections 14 and I8 gives an overall length of about seventy-six inches. In Figs. 5 and 6, the back section is about inches long. A width of about twenty-four inches for the sec-. tions l 4, l6 and I8 is adequate for a single bed use, and a width of about forty-eight inches for sofadouble-bed construction.

The disposition of the pivoted end of the backsection I4 close to the lower edges of the side pieces llland II and of the lower end of cushion 24 in the space behind the seat-section l4, gives a low silhouette to the combination with the parts positioned in the form of a chair conformable to a chair of pleasing appearance.

A slat at the lower part of this space behind the seat-section l4, Fig. 1, may be provided for supporting the lower end of the cushion 24 when resting against the back-section it in its raised position. In Figs. 5 and 6, cushions 20 and 24 may be mounted on a base or frame incorporated in the cushions (not shown), on which are ribs I46 which fit inside the seat-section and backsection and hold the cushions against displacement.

Foldable legs (one at each side), may be provided for supporting the extension-section l8 when positioned for use as a bed. Fittings for foldable card-table legs sold by Sargent Hardware Company are suitable. To relieve the hinge of the weight of the body on the back-section 55, in horizontal bed-use position it is advantageous to support the adjacent ends of sections it and i8 and to have the supporting means automatically moved into supporting position when the back-section H; is lowered and the extension-section extended in horizontal position, so that emission to move the supporting means to supporting position through inadvertence is avoided. Such means are provided by legs 44 (one on each side) pivoted to back-section 16, as indicated at 45, having a shoulder 41 constructed and arranged to extend under the adjacent ends of sections l6 and 18, as illustrated best in Figs. 4 and 5. A hinged link or strap is pivotally connected to extension-section l8, as indicated at 5|, and to the leg 44, as indicated at 52. By this construction and arrangement, the legs 44 and the shoulders 41 thereon are automatically pulled through an angle of 90 to supporting position as the extension-section I8 turns on hinge I! in moving from the contiguous (chair-use) position, Figs. 1 and 5, to the extended (bed-use) position, Fig. 4.

Operation: In the chair-use position of the parts of the combination, the back-section l6 has a vertically inclined position on pivot 30, extension-section 18 has a position on hinge I! close against back-section l6, and the sections l6 and I8 are held in such vertically inclined position against backward or downward movement by suitable means, as the rod 33, Fig. 1, or the thumb-screw I33, Fig. 6, supported in the side pieces it! and H contacting the extension-section l8, and may also be held against forward movement by suitable means, as the abutments on the side-pieces. The two equally or substantially equally dimensioned cushions are resting, one on top of the other, on the seat-section l4. The cushion 24 extends into the space behind seatsection l4 and between the latter and the backsection I 6 and rests in inclined position against the back-section iii.

For bed use, the lower end of cushion 24 is pulled out of the space behind the seat-section 14, the extension section is swung on hinge I! to extended position, links 59 automatically pulling legs 44 and the shoulders 41 to a supporting position under the hinged ends of backsection l6, and extension-section l 8, legs 40 are turned outwardly to position to support the extended end of extension-section l8, and the back-section id (and extension-section l8) are lowered around pivot 3!? until legs 4!: and 44 contact the floor. When the back-section I6 is lowered, its end below pivot 39 fills the gap or space behind the seat-section previously occupied by the lower end of cushion 24. The cushion 24 is laid on back section it and cushion 22 on extension-section l8, and a full-length cushioned bed is provided. A minimum of simple mech-, anism is required to make the conversions, and a minimum acquaintanc with particular mechanism to be used to make the conversions is required. A useful chair-bed combination is provided, contrived to possess close resemblance to a chair, and. be pleasing and presentable as a part of the furnishings of a tasteful living room.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, the operation of the parts, in both chair-use and bed-use is the same as previously described. Hinged parts I55 may be turned down in bed-use and a bed with no obstructions above the cushions is provided.

This application is a continuation in part of application Serial No. 610,301,,fi1ed August .11, 1945, which was formally abandoned.

What we claim is:

1. A convertible chair-bed combination comprising side-pieces, a seat section to which said side-pieces are connected, a back-section turning on a pivot fixed on each of said side-pieces, a removable cushion for said back-section, and an extension section hinged to the back of said backsection at its upper end, said seat section having a rear transverse panel and said side pieces ex-,,

tending rearwardly of said panel and providing, between said rear panel and the rearward parts of said side pieces, a space in which said back section and removable cushion are located, said seat and extension sections being of about equal length and said back section being of substantially greater length than said seat section, said back-section in a vertically inclined (chair-use) position being spaced from and extending downwardly behind said rear panel of said seat section, and providing, between said rear panel and the lower end of said back-section, a space for said removable cushion, means on the rearward extension of said side pieces for holding said backsection in a vertically inclined position, and a plurality of legs for supporting said back-section and extension in a horizontal position. I

2. A convertible chair-bed combination, ac: cording to claim 5 wherein certain of said legs arepivotally connected to said back-section and have shoulders extending beneath the adjacent end of both said back-section and extension section when such legs are turned to a position to support the sections in horizontal position, and wherein links connect said such legs and said extension section and act to automaticaliy pull said such legs to supporting position when said. extension section is turned on its hinge to a position in extension of said back section.

GUSTAVE R. THOMPSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Atwood Nov. 22, 1892 Holman May 25,. 1897 Kenny Dec. 9, 1902 Schauer et a1. Apr. 9, 1907 Zendt Apr. 23,. 1918 Strand Dec. 17, 1918 Alband Mar. 26, 1929 Bell Apr. 29, 1941 

